Migration corridor

We are traveling along the southern shore of Lake Superior. This appears to be a migration corridor for quite a few different creatures.

First up, we met a couple gathering milkweed leaves and monarch butterfly caterpillars. They bring the caterpillars home and raise them. They mentioned that more and more people and communities are aware of the importance of milkweed and let it grow so that monarchs have something to sustain them on their migration. They had brought their grandson along with them to help collect leaves. He loves to see the butterflies emerge from their cocoons, hopefully his grandchildren will be able to experience the same thrill someday.

Lots of birds spend the summer along the lake shore. Today we saw quite a few sandhill cranes. I'm not sure where these ones go for the winter. They seem to be a bit darker than the Florida sandhill cranes.

Michigan rt 28 serves as a migration route for Canadian cyclists. Today we met one pair from Quebec City and another pair from Montreal. Both were the real deal - unsupported cyclists crossing the continent carrying their camping equipment. None of us have ever cycled the north shore of Lake Superior, but we have heard the roads and truck traffic are not very bike friendly. Perhaps that explains why Canadian cyclists veer down into the UP.

We stopped for lunch but these Canadians kept going. They covered a lot more miles per day than we do.

When we left Marquette this morning, we noticed that the pile of gypsum has been shrinking. The truck next to the pile gives an idea of just how big the pile is.

Since this is a rust belt tour, we thought it appropriate to spend some time at a junkyard sculpture garden. We were not disappointed.

If I was as lean as this guy, I could wear the yellow jersey too.

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	0